CN1251419A - Gas-floating device, gas-floating conveying device and heat-treatment device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for conveying processed materials along a prescribed direction in a heat treatment space, including a gas floating device and a conveying device. The gas flotation device includes: a gas discharge device that blows gas from a gas discharge port of the gas discharge device to a part of the processed material that acts on the buoyancy at a prescribed discharge speed in the subsonic-sonic range in order to float the processed material; and The gas is supplied to the gas supply device of the gas discharge device, and the conveying device is composed of an abutment member that abuts against the rear end of the floating material to be processed and moves in the predetermined direction. The present invention is a cheap and reliable installation.

Description

Gas flotation device, gas flotation transport device and heat treatment device

The present invention relates to a gas flotation device that uses gas to float an object that is a material to be processed, such as a product raw material, a part, an intermediate product, etc. A gas flotation transport device for transport by floating and a heat treatment device for heat treatment, a gas flotation method for floating an object as a material to be processed by using gas, a gas flotation transport method for transport by flotation, and a heat treatment method.

In the manufacturing process of various products, various heat treatments such as heating and cooling treatments are utilized. Specifically, most people are aware of the effects of drying, sintering, packaging, degassing, annealing, and other heat treatments to complete the product.

For example, in order to improve the productivity of heat treatment, it has been proposed that the material to be processed is passed through a dome-shaped or tunnel-shaped heating furnace while being conveyed by a mesh belt conveyor, a roller table, etc., to perform heat treatment.

Fig. 19 is a perspective view schematically showing a resistance heating mesh-belt conveying heat treatment apparatus generally used in the manufacture of electronic components and the like. In the heat treatment apparatus 1100 , the mesh belt 1106 is continuously moved in one direction into a tunnel formed of a metal material called a heating furnace 1104 surrounded by resistance heater blocks 1102 . The heat-treated material 1108 is placed on the mesh belt 1106 and moves from the supply part (infeeder) 1110 side to the discharge part (non-infeeder) 1112 side. The material to be processed 1108 is heated at a predetermined temperature while passing through the heating furnace 1104 . When the mesh belt 1106 and the material to be processed 1108 pass through the area surrounded by the heater block 1102 , they are cooled while passing through the cooling furnace 1116 provided with the cooling water pipe 1114 .

For the heating furnace used for heat treatment, generally along the conveying direction of the processed material, there is a heating zone for heating and heating the processed material, a constant temperature zone for maintaining the temperature of the processed material after heating, and a cooling and cooling zone for the processed material In the cooling zone, the specified heat treatment is carried out when the material to be processed passes through each zone in sequence. Generally, heat is added in the warming area, heat is added only in balance with the heat dissipation in the constant temperature area, and heat is taken away in the cooling area.

In general, as heating methods for heating furnaces used for heat treatment of electronic components, there are resistance heating using electric energy, photoelectric heating using lamp irradiation, and heating using combustion heat such as gaseous fuel, and they can be used alone or in combination. For the material to be processed, the heat load fluctuation is small, so in order to maintain stable heat treatment conditions, using the above-mentioned heating method, it is necessary to form a heat treatment space with a large heat capacity environment, and it is also necessary to control the heat treatment device constituting the heat treatment space. The internal structure is heated.

In the above-mentioned existing heat treatment methods, for the heat treatment of the processed material, when the whole material to be processed is uniformly heated, kept at a constant temperature, and cooled, a larger heat treatment space is necessary, and the heat energy lost thereupon is also relatively large. big. In order to maintain such a large heat treatment space, among the heat energy input into the heat treatment device, the proportion of the heat energy actually and effectively consumed by the heat treatment of the material to be processed (effectively retained heat) is relatively small, so most of the input heat energy is consumed. The problem of unnecessary consumption causes the cost of heat treatment to increase.

As described above, FIG. 19 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the interior of a general mesh-belt conveyance type heat treatment apparatus used for heat treatment of electronic components and the like. The reason why the utilization rate of thermal energy in such a heat treatment apparatus is low is considered to be as follows.

Fig. 20 is a heat estimation map of a conventional heat treatment apparatus. In fact, if the heat energy input into the heat treatment device is set as 100% to calculate the heat balance, in a tunnel-shaped representative heating furnace that enters and exits the conveyor that transports the material to be processed, since the entrance and exit are always open, it is supplied to the heating energy. The heat energy in the furnace will be released from the entrance and exit. The thermal energy released from the inlet and outlet is about 30% of the supplied thermal energy.

In addition, in the heat treatment apparatus, since it is necessary to heat the conveyor in addition to the material to be processed, a large amount of thermal energy is consumed for heating the conveyor. A large amount of heat energy is required to heat a conveyor with a complicated mechanism and a large heat capacity. When the conveyer leaves the heating furnace, the heat energy supplied to the conveyer is released to the outside in the heat treatment apparatus, which becomes wasteful. A large amount of thermal energy is supplied to the conveyor every time the conveyor circulates and enters and exits the heat treatment device, and the supplied thermal energy is released to the outside without being used. The heat energy taken away by this conveyor is also about 20% of the heat energy supplied.

In addition, in the conventional heat treatment technology, the amount of thermal energy released from the furnace wall of the heating furnace to the outside is also relatively large, and about 45% of the supplied thermal energy is released from the furnace wall.

These results show that in the existing heat treatment apparatus, among the heat energy supplied, the heat energy available for the heat treatment of the material to be processed is only less than 5% of the whole, and it is the current situation to perform extremely inefficient heat treatment.

According to this specification, the so-called "heat treatment" refers to the treatment of raising the temperature of the treated material, constant temperature, lowering the temperature or their combination, and it can also be the treatment of raising, lowering or keeping the temperature of the treated material at a certain level, or any combination of them. Treatment; therefore, also the treatment of adding heat to or absorbing heat from the material being treated, or any combination thereof (may also include heat insulation as the case may be). By such heat treatment, at least one characteristic of the processed material (for example, moisture retention rate, weight, electrical resistance, transmittance, formed film thickness or its uniformity, internal stress or deformation, strength and composition, etc.) is changed as prescribed.

For example, the treatment of heating the treated material includes the treatment of raising the temperature of the treated material to a prescribed temperature for a prescribed time, the treatment of maintaining the temperature of the treated material at a prescribed temperature for a prescribed time, and placing the treated material in a prescribed temperature. The treatment of temperature change conditions, etc. In addition, the treatment of taking away heat from the material to be treated includes when the heat is not increased, that is, by natural cooling or by blowing cold air from power, or by using a surface that absorbs heat or dissipates heat that can control the specified temperature. Such as the method of forced cooling to reduce the temperature of the material to be processed.

Therefore, the subject of the present invention is, for example, in the manufacture of plasma display panels and solar cell panels, to eliminate the above-mentioned problems in the case of heat-treating various materials to be processed, thereby providing a gas quantity that will be used Heat treatment method for intermediate product or final product that minimizes utilization rate of heat energy, improves productivity, and further improves quality, and floatation device and gas floatation conveyance device for processed materials that can be applied to heat treatment devices and flotation method and shipping method.

In particular, the present invention relates to a heat treatment device, such as a conveying method and device applicable to a heat treatment device for plasma display panel and solar cell manufacturing, and a conveying device that uses mesh belt conveying or roller conveying in all the heat energy input into the heat treating device. Differently, as a simple transport device that can eliminate large heat loss as much as possible, a new type of gas floating transport device is provided that uses gas to float (or float) the material to be processed by combining gas discharge and transport.

However, the basic technique of floating the material being processed is now well known. In addition, as a device for heat-treating a floating substrate in a heat-treatment space, as disclosed in Japanese Invention Patent Publication No. 29238 (Applicant: Sharp Corporation) in 1993, the following thermal diffusion device has been proposed: In this process, an inert gas is blown to both sides of the semiconductor substrate to float the substrate, and the semiconductor substrate is heated by irradiating heating light, and at the same time, impurities (dopants) are thermally diffused on the predetermined substrate surface.

However, in consideration of practicality, in a high-temperature environment, it is very difficult to control floating transportation by stably stopping the floating transportation after the substrate is reliably conveyed at a predetermined level within a predetermined time range only by the action of gas. This can be realized, and it is easy to predict that the cost of the gas flow control device for floating the substrate by using the gas will become expensive. Therefore, in order to ensure the product quality of heat treatment and effectively utilize the wasted heat energy, in order to adapt the gas floating transportation to the actual manufacturing process, it is hoped to provide a more realistic, cheap and reliable floating transportation method and its used installation.

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gas levitation device that discharges gas from a gas discharge port of the gas discharge device toward an object at a predetermined discharge speed in the subsonic to sonic range, thereby floating the object. In addition, the present invention provides a gas flotation method characterized in that gas acting as a force to float the object is discharged toward the object at a predetermined discharge speed in the subsonic to sonic range from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device. In addition, the gas discharge device is a member (for example, a nozzle, etc.) provided at an end thereof with a gas discharge port serving as an opening for discharging gas to an object. Gas is supplied to such a gas discharge device from a gas supply device (including, for example, a pump, a conduit, etc.).

The present invention is based on considerations regarding the use of gas to generate an acting force as follows. The gas used can also be any suitable gas, for example, air, nitrogen, hydrogen, other process gases, etc. can be used to form the ambient gas required for the processing space or heat treatment space.

The force F (corresponding to the buoyancy force acting on the object or the material to be processed) acting on the surface perpendicular to the discharge direction of the gas discharged from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device such as a nozzle depends on the density ρ of the gas , the flow rate Q of the gas and the discharge velocity V of the gas have the following relationship (1):

F = ρQV (1)

That is, in order to obtain the same buoyancy force F, it is necessary to increase the density ρ or the discharge velocity V when the flow rate Q is to be reduced. In addition, the density ρ of the gas can be expressed as formula (2) by the following equation of state of the actually existing gas:

ρ＝P/(zRT) (2)

In the formula, P is the pressure of the gas, z is the compressibility coefficient, R is the gas constant, and T is the temperature (absolute temperature) of the gas.

Therefore, to increase the density ρ of the gas, it is necessary to increase the pressure P of the gas, thereby increasing the pressure of the heat treatment environment, or reduce the temperature T (absolute temperature) of the gas, thereby reducing the temperature of the heat treatment environment, or only change the type of gas Methods. Usually, the type of gas and the state of the heat treatment environment are determined due to other constraints, so the pressure P and temperature T cannot be changed. For example, since the supply system requires high-pressure piping, the pressure P cannot be high. In addition, the temperature T cannot be low because a cooling device is required to set it below normal temperature.

Therefore, in order to increase the buoyancy force F, there is no other method except to increase the discharge velocity V of the gas. However, when the discharge speed of the gas is too high, it is necessary to work on the gas discharge device such as a nozzle, and as a result, the gas discharge device becomes expensive.

As a result of studying this situation, to use the gas discharge device easily and cheaply, the discharge velocity of the gas is preferably in the range of about 0.4 to 1.0 Mach number, that is, subsonic to sonic (at normal temperature and pressure, about 340m/ s) near any specified speed, especially at normal temperature and pressure, about 125m/s~340m/s is better, and at normal temperature and pressure, about 275m/s~325m/s is better, so , we know that the amount of gas used to float the object can be set to a minimum. The predetermined speed may be constant or variable, and may be appropriately selected in consideration of the floating height or floating amount of the target object according to the properties of the target object (for example, weight, bottom area, etc.). In addition, even if the predetermined speed is reached abruptly in a stepwise manner, or until the predetermined speed is reached, the speed may be gradually increased from zero to the predetermined speed.

In addition, when the flow rate (or gas discharge speed) V is set constant, the main factor for specifying the gas flow rate is the cross-sectional area (diameter) of the gas discharge port such as the nozzle of the gas discharge device, but to obtain the above-mentioned For such a discharge speed, the diameter of the circular cross-section nozzle is preferably, for example, about 0.3 to 1 mm, and the pressure before the gas discharge port is preferably, for example, 0.1 to 0.9 MPa.

In the second aspect of the present invention, it is a device for heat-treating the material to be processed, using gas to float the material to be processed in the heat treatment space and transporting it in a predetermined direction, consisting of a gas flotation device and a transport device, the gas flotation device It includes: a gas discharge device for blowing gas to a part of the processing material acting as a buoyant force in order to float the processing material; and a gas supply device for supplying gas to the gas discharge device.

The conveying device is composed of a contact member that contacts the rear end of the floating material to be processed and moves in the predetermined direction, and the material to be processed is pushed by moving the contact member, thereby supplying the material to be processed that is about to float. A gas floating transport device characterized by moving in the predetermined direction. In addition, the number of materials to be processed is one or more, and if there are more than one, it is only necessary to arrange a plurality of them along the predetermined direction, which is generally common.

In a preferred form, the gas flotation device further includes a bottom plate with a gas discharge port. When the gas discharge is stopped, the floating processed materials can be placed on it. Treat the material, such as heat treating it. After this treatment is completed, the gas can be exhausted and the processed material can be transported to the specified location. Then, the discharge of the gas is stopped again, so that the material to be processed can be placed on the bottom plate, and the processing can be performed again as specified.

In addition, the present invention provides a gas floating transport method, which is to use a gas floating device in the heat treatment space to float the processed material by using gas in order to heat treat the processed material, and then use the transport device to transport it in a predetermined direction method, which is characterized by,

The gas flotation device blows the gas supplied by the gas supply device from the gas discharge device to a part of the material to be processed to float the material to be processed,

The transport device has a contact member that moves in the predetermined direction. The contact member contacts the rear end of the floating material to be processed, and the material to be processed is pushed by moving the contact member, thereby moving the floating material to be processed to Move in the specified direction. In particular, in a preferred aspect, the material to be processed is placed on the transport member, and the contact member moves the transport member in a predetermined direction. In a preferred form, the gas flotation device also includes a bottom plate with a gas discharge port, and the gas discharge through the gas flotation device makes the material to be processed float on the bottom plate, the material to be processed is moved by the conveying device, and the material to be processed is passed through Stopping the exhaust gas of the gas floatation device repeats the placement of the processed material on the bottom plate, and moves the processed material intermittently.

In the present invention, the so-called "material to be processed" refers to an object that is transported in a heat treatment space (generally, a horizontally elongated space capable of accommodating multiple objects at the same time) for heat treatment, such as each Such a substrate, in particular, can also be in the form of a plate or a thin plate. The material to be processed has a surface having a buoyant force generated by blowing gas discharged from the gas flotation device as a part thereof. The number of materials to be processed is 1 or more, and is not particularly limited, but usually about 2 to 30. The specific number can be selected according to the type of heat treatment, productivity, and cost of the device considered by the owner. In addition, although the present invention does not exclude the heat treatment of a single material to be processed, from the viewpoint of efficiency, it is generally inefficient to treat the material to be processed individually. Such materials to be processed are arranged in a predetermined direction in the heat treatment space, and are transported in that direction. During this reaction, the material to be processed is prescribed heat treatment.

The so-called "heat treatment" refers to heating the object (including heating for heat preservation), absorbing heat from the object (including cooling for heat preservation), placing the object in a heat-insulated state, or any combination thereof, according to Heat treatment, the heat treatment space has heat installations. Therefore, while the material to be processed is conveyed in the heat treatment space, it is prescribedly heat-treated by a thermal device (for example, a heating device, a cooling device, a heat insulating device, etc.) installed in the heat treatment space. The so-called "predetermined direction" refers to a predetermined direction in which the material to be processed should be moved in the heat treatment space, which can usually be a horizontal direction.

"Gas flotation device" consists of a gas discharge device and a gas supply device, as long as the buoyancy force acts on the material to be processed for floating, usually on a part of the bottom surface of the material to be processed, the gas is blown vigorously to cause the buoyancy force to act What is necessary is just to float the material to be processed, and it is not specifically limited. Most of the material to be processed is in the shape of a plate or a thin plate (that is, compared with the thickness, other dimensions (such as length, width, depth, etc.) are large. At this time, the gas is blown against the back. Generally, from the Such a "gas discharge device" with one or more gas discharge ports blows inert gas (usually air, nitrogen or other processing gases forming a heat treatment space, etc.) to the material to be processed, and a "gas supply device" controls Supply the gas (in particular, its pressure and/or volume) blown from the gas discharge device to the material to be processed, and ensure a stable floating height or floating amount.

In the gas floating conveyance device of the present invention, the movement of the material to be processed in the heat treatment space is implemented by the abutment member having the conveyance device. The abutment member abuts against the rear end of the material to be processed that is to be moved in the heat treatment space, and pushes the material to be processed forward to convey it in a predetermined direction.

The conveying device includes a contact member that moves in the predetermined direction by contacting the rear end of the floating material to be processed, and the contact member that moves in the predetermined direction pushes the floating material to be processed, thereby transporting the material to be processed to The predetermined direction moves mechanically. This kind of conveying device can reliably move the material to be processed to a predetermined position at a predetermined time, and it can also be called a "push type conveying device". The processed material, at least during the time it is so moved, floats up. Therefore, it may be floated or not floated when it is not moved, but it is preferable to supply gas to float only when the material to be processed is moved in order to save the amount of gas used.

The heat treatment of the material to be processed is carried out by passing the material to be processed through a heat treatment space set under predetermined heat conditions. Therefore, there is usually a difference between the period when the material to be processed is floating (the time when the transport device is used to move and the material to be processed before and after it is stopped) and the period when the material to be processed is not floating (that is, the material to be processed is stopped after the supply of the floating gas is stopped). during the period located at the bottom of the heat treatment space) on both sides. When it is possible to stop the heat treatment during only the flotation, the heat treatment may not be performed during the flotation.

In addition, the above-mentioned gas floatation device can use a known technology, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 24672 in 1978. In the gas floating transportation device of the present invention, as long as the material to be processed can be floated to a predetermined height, any known gas floating device can be used. The gas flotation device is used as a gas flotation device. At this time, the target object of the gas floatation device in the first principle corresponds to the processed material of the gas floatation conveyance device.

That is, in the gas floating transportation device of the second claim, it is characterized in that when the material to be processed is floated, the gas acting as a force to make the material to be processed floats at a subsonic to sonic speed at the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device. The discharge speed specified in the range is discharged to the material to be processed. In such a gas float transport device, the pressure of the discharged gas is adjusted to achieve such a discharge speed, thereby reducing the amount of gas required for floating as much as possible.

In addition, the present invention provides a gas floating transportation method, which is characterized in that when the material to be processed is transported by using gas to float it, the gas acting as a force to float the object is passed through the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device in sub-steps. The material to be processed is discharged at a predetermined discharge speed in the range of sound speed to sound speed, and is moved by a conveying device.

In addition, in a third claim, the present invention provides a heat treatment device for a material to be processed, including a heat treatment space including the above-mentioned gas floating transportation device of the present invention. In addition, the present invention provides a method for heat-treating a material to be processed, which is characterized in that the above-mentioned gas floating conveyance device is used in a heat-treating space set to a predetermined heat condition, and (1) is utilized The process of floating the material to be processed by exhausting the gas from the gas floating device, (2) the process of moving the material to be processed in a predetermined direction with the transport device, and (3) the process of stopping the discharge of gas and placing the material to be processed in the heat treatment space The processes on the bottom plate (or bottom) are set at least once or more, and are carried out in the order of (1) → (2) → (3) (the initial process can be any one), so that the material to be processed temporarily stays in the The material to be processed is heat-treated by being placed under the thermal conditions of the heat-treatment space during passage. That is, the heat treatment is performed by repeating the order of floating → moving → placing.

Usually, the material to be processed is passed through the heat treatment space while performing the above steps (1) to (3) several times. The order of the steps may start from any step. For example, it is also possible to start from step (2) (at this time, for example, the order of (2)→(3)→(1)→...→(1)→(2)→(3)), or it is also possible to start from the step (3) Start (at this time, for example, the order of (3)→(1)→(2)→...→(1)→(2)).

That is, by performing steps (1) to (3) at least once, the material to be processed temporarily stays in the heat treatment space and then moves (therefore, the material to be processed moves intermittently in the heat treatment space). Which process is performed at the beginning, or which process is performed at the end, depends on the method of supplying the material to be processed to the heat treatment space (for example, the method of supplying in a floating state, the method of supplying in a placed state, etc.) and the flow from there. The method of taking out (for example, a method of taking out in a floating state, a method of taking out in a placed state, etc.) varies.

In addition, it is preferable to set relatively long time between step (3) and step (1) (that is, the time for placing on the base plate), and heat treatment is mainly performed during that period. This heat treatment method can be preferably carried out with the heat treatment device of the present invention. At this time, when the gas discharge is stopped, when the material to be processed is placed on the bottom plate and the gas is discharged to the material to be processed, the gas will flow above the bottom plate. , the processed material produces floating. Therefore, the bottom plate is provided with gas outlets.

Below, the gas flotation device of the present invention and the gas flotation transport device of the present invention are mainly described with reference to their forms after they are packed into the heat treatment device (the form of the heat treatment device of the present invention), and the gas flotation device of the present invention and the present invention The gas flotation transport device can also be used alone or in combination for purposes other than heat treatment. For example, the gas flotation device can also be applied to other treatments that require floating objects, and can reduce the amount of gas used. For example, the gas flotation conveying device, the known technology or the combination of the gas flotation device of the present invention can also be applied to other treatments that require the materials to be processed to pass through the specified space. In addition, in the heat treatment apparatus of this invention, you may use a well-known gas floatation apparatus instead of the gas floatation apparatus of this invention.

In one aspect of the present invention, the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention has the gas floating conveyance device of the present invention in the heat treatment space, and the gas floatation conveyance device is composed of the gas floatation device according to the first aspect of the present invention as the gas floating means. . The gas flotation device floats the processed material that should be heat-treated. This device consists of a gas discharge device such as a nozzle that floats the material to be processed by blowing the gas from below to make the material to be processed float, such as a nozzle, and a floating amount or a floating amount that controls and stabilizes the gas discharge amount. Consists of a gas supply device that ensures a floating height. The gas supply device pressurizes the gas to a predetermined pressure and discharges the gas stably from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device, thereby ensuring a predetermined floating height or floating amount of the material to be processed.

In addition, the floating height or floating amount is not particularly limited, but when the floating amount is too large, the discharged gas is not conducive to the floating of the processed material and passes between the processed material and the bottom plate and only leaks from the peripheral portion of the processed material. Increased the amount of gas that becomes useless. In addition, when the amount of floating is too small, the target object may come into contact with the bottom plate and adversely affect the quality of the material to be processed. When this situation is considered, in the present invention, a particularly preferable floating height (the distance between the bottom plate and the material to be processed) is about 0.2 mm to 1 mm above.

The heat treatment apparatus of the present invention includes the transport device in the heat treatment space as described above, whereby the material to be processed can be reliably moved at a predetermined time and a predetermined position. For example, by installing a member that abuts against the material to be processed (such as the rear end in its conveying direction and, depending on the case, its front end) on a transmission chain belt, etc., by moving/stopping the chain belt, and by moving/stopping the member, the member Can push the material being processed or stop it. This kind of conveying device is used to transport the material to be processed in a state of floating in a specified manner in the heat treatment space (for example, to a specified position at a specified time) and then stop to prevent gas discharge, and place the material to be processed On the bottom plate, the material to be processed is then heat-treated, then, if necessary, floated and transported to the next location, where it is then heat-treated again. Under the setting conditions of the heat treatment space, although the heat treatment can be performed in a state where the material to be processed is floating, it is generally performed in a state where the gas discharge is stopped and the material is not floating.

In the heat treatment device of the present invention, the pressure loss in the gas supply piping system and the blowing loss at the discharge port must be added to the supply pressure of the gas used for floating, but as the pressure in the gas discharge device, even if the compressed gas generation is considered The cost (although there is a relationship with the discharge speed) is usually 4 kgf/cm ² or less, for example, 1 to 2 g f/cm ² is sufficient. This is the pressure at the inlet of the gas flotation device.

In a preferred form of the present invention, the gas floatation device is composed of a bottom plate with a gas discharge device, above which the material to be processed is floated, and the material to be processed is moved above the bottom plate by a conveying device. In addition, the heat treatment device of the present invention with this gas flotation device includes a plurality of gas flotation devices arranged along the moving direction of the processed material (according to requirements, the gas flotation device can be arranged in a row along the moving direction of the processed material row, also can be arranged in multiple rows).

In such a gas floatation device, it is preferable that the gas supply device controls the amount and/or pressure of the gas supplied to the gas discharge device so as to set a predetermined discharge speed from subsonic to sonic. The gas discharge device and the gas supply device are preferably paired, but gas may be supplied from one gas supply device to a plurality of gas discharge devices.

The movement (or transportation) of the material to be processed is carried out by the conveying device as described above. When the material to be processed is in a floating state, when it moves to a predetermined position where heat treatment should be performed, the movement is stopped, and the floating of the material to be processed is stopped. To discharge the gas, perform a prescribed heat treatment with the material to be processed placed on the bottom plate.

In one aspect of the gas floatation transport device of the present invention, the material to be processed is placed on the transport member, and the transport member is passed through the heat treatment space. That is, in the above-described gas floating transport device of the present invention, the transport member is floated by gas, and instead of the material to be processed, the transport member is moved in a predetermined direction by the transport device, and as a result, the material to be processed placed on it is transported. . It is desired that such a conveying member is not substantially affected by the environment in which the material to be processed is heat-treated, and that it does not adversely affect the material to be processed in the heat-treatment environment. In general, it is preferable to form such conveying members from quartz glass material, ceramic material, metallic material. The transport member preferably has a surface that is easily subjected to buoyancy by the gas blown from the gas discharge device. Therefore, the transport member is generally preferably a rectangular plate or a shallow vessel (tray) that can support the material to be processed on it. shape), the gas is blown to the back of the conveying member in this way, and the material to be processed is placed on the opposite surface.

When the transport member is used in this way, the shape of the material to be processed is not affected, and it can be reliably transported, and there is an advantage that the material to be processed is prevented from deforming due to its own weight according to heat treatment conditions. For example, in the case of simultaneously performing gas flotation and heat treatment by discharging high-temperature gas from a gas discharge device, when the material to be processed is floated by blowing gas directly, a large temperature distribution occurs in the material to be processed , the heat treatment becomes uneven, or thermal deformation occurs in the processed material due to residual stress, and sometimes damage occurs due to rapid heating or cooling, but in that case, direct damage to the processed material can be avoided by transporting the member heating. Of course, other heating devices can also be used to prevent heating by the exhaust gas.

In one aspect of the present invention, the contact member is the front end of another processed material (or conveying member) that contacts the rear end of the processed material (or conveying member). That is, in this form, the materials to be processed are aligned in a predetermined direction, and one material to be processed is pushed by the material to be processed that is arranged next to it. Therefore, especially the front end of the subsequent processed material comes into contact with the rear end of the preceding processed material, and by some action, the subsequent processed material is moved forward, and the preceding processed material is moved forward. This movement of the processed material, when a plurality of processed materials are arranged in contact with each other, when the force from the outside to the front is applied to the last processed material, the force is gradually transmitted to the front. Therefore, it is only necessary to mechanically push forward the end of the arrayed processed materials by using, for example, a pusher. This transport method can be called pinball type (玉火き type), progressive type (トコロテン type) or plug-in type. In this form, since the processed material (or conveying member) is directly in contact with the processed material (or conveying member), it is suitable that the mutually contactable area of the generally arranged processed material (or conveying member) is large, and the thickness of the processed material or the conveying member It is suitable that the dimension in the thickness direction (that is, the dimension perpendicular to the conveying direction) of the end portion in the conveying direction is large. In addition, the shape of the conveying member is not particularly limited as long as the material to be processed can be placed thereon. For example, a tray shape, a plate shape thicker than the material to be processed, or a platform shape may be used.

In another aspect of the present invention, the material to be processed is pressed by an abutting member fastened to a continuous member moving forward in the predetermined direction in the heat treatment space at least at substantially equal intervals along the length of the material to be processed. Material moves in a defined direction. In this form, the abutment member is fastened to a continuous member such as a belt, chain, or wire rope in a predetermined direction that circulates in the heat treatment space so that the abutment member can abut against at least a part of the rear end of the material to be processed. The continuous member continuously moves in a predetermined direction by transmitting the force of a rotary drive device such as a motor through appropriate rollers, gears, and the like. When it is necessary to move a plurality of processed materials, several processing abutment members corresponding to the number of temporarily accommodated several processed materials in the heat treatment space are fastened to the continuous member, and each abutment member is connected to each processed material. The material or the rear ends of the respective conveying members abut to push against them.

The intervals between the fastening abutting members are preferably equal intervals, and since the processed materials need to be placed between the intervals, the intervals are at least the length of the processed materials (that is, the dimensions in the specified direction of the processed materials). At least one continuous member needs to be arranged along a predetermined direction in the heat treatment space, for example, along one edge or the central line of the heat treatment space, preferably two along both edges.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, the contact member is arranged along a part of the circumference of the elongated member. The long member can make reciprocating linear motion in the specified direction and the opposite direction. As a result, when the abutting member is in contact with the material to be processed (that is, the abutting state is "open"), the elongated member advances, and after advancing a predetermined distance forward, the abutting state is released. This release, by rotating the elongated member with the contact member around its axis (or longitudinal direction), the state where the contact member is in contact with the material to be processed (that is, the contact state becomes "closed") can be released. "(That is to say, the non-contact state)). In the state where the abutting state is released, the long member retreats to the rear end of the subsequent material to be processed, and then reversely rotates around the axis of the long member to abut against the rear end of the subsequent material to be processed , and then move forward.

In this way, like the opening of the contact state → the advancement of the long member → the closing of the contact state → the retreat of the long member → the opening of the contact state, the forward and backward of the long member and the opening and closing of the contact state will be repeated. Processed material is transported to the front. In addition, the intervals of the fastening abutment members, the number of long members and their arrangement are the same as those of the above-mentioned continuous members. Such long members may be in the form of, for example, rods or shafts, and their rotation and linear reciprocation may be performed by any appropriate method.

This kind of continuous member or long member has a simple structure itself, and the devices (such as motors, rollers, gears, etc.) that drive them do not need complicated structures, and the complicated devices that transmit power to these members can be arranged in the heat treatment space. Externally, there is an advantage that the material to be processed can be reliably moved and stopped compared to the case where the material to be processed is moved and stopped using only gas.

The heat treatment device having the above-mentioned gas floating conveyance device may also include a supply unit for supplying the material to be processed to the heat treatment space in front of the heat treatment space, and a discharge unit for taking out the material to be processed from the heat treatment space at the back of the heat treatment space. The exhaust section and exhaust section preferably include the same gas flotation means and transport means as the heat treatment space. That is, when the material to be processed is supplied to and taken out from the heat treatment device, it is also preferable to use the conveying device to supply the material to be processed into the heat treatment space in a state where it is floated by the gas flotation device. In the state of being floated by the gas floating device, the material to be processed is taken out from the heat treatment space by the conveying device.

The heat required for the heat treatment of the material to be processed can also be supplied by any appropriate method. In one form, an appropriate heat source provided below and/or above the bottom plate can be used. Heat (such as radiant heat, conduction heat) to implement. For example, a material to be processed placed on the bottom plate can be heat-treated by heating the bottom plate with a heat source provided under the bottom plate and utilizing heat transfer therefrom (by stopping gas discharge). This form can be called a so-called hot plate type, for example, the bottom plate has a gas discharge device such as a nozzle for discharging gas. In addition, even when such a base plate is used, the material to be processed can be heated to a predetermined temperature by radiation from the base plate while the material to be processed is floated by the gas discharge device for heat treatment.

As the heat source for this heating, resistance heating devices such as electric heaters and plate heaters arranged under the bottom plate can be used, or liquid fuels such as petroleum and kerosene or gaseous fuels such as city gas and LPG can be used to burn under the bottom plate. The heat generated by the burner. These heating devices heat the bottom plate, thereby directly heating the material to be processed by heat transfer, and indirectly heating the material to be processed by using radiation. As another heat source, an appropriate heating source (for example, a heater, a heating lamp) may be provided above the material to be processed, and the material to be processed may be heat-treated by utilizing radiant heat therefrom.

Depending on circumstances, the gas used for flotation may be heated in advance, and the gas may be discharged for flotation, and the heat treatment space may be heated to heat-treat the material to be processed. When the gas discharged for floating is heated, heat treatment can also be promoted in a state where the material to be processed is floating. For example, a heat exchanger is arranged in the exhaust gas supply piping system to exchange heat between the high-temperature heat medium and the exhaust gas, so that the indirectly obtained heat is used as an energy source for heat treatment of the material to be processed. In addition, the gas may be heated by photoelectric radiation heating such as an infrared lamp that radiates a wavelength that absorbs heat well as a gas. Alternatively, the burner as described above may be provided outside the gas supply piping system to heat the discharged gas.

In this way, in the case of heating the gas, by discharging the heated gas toward the material to be processed, both flotation and heat treatment can be simultaneously performed on the material to be processed. Of course, both the heating of the bottom plate and the heating of the exhaust gas may be used in combination. In this way, various heat sources can be used, but it is important to select a heat source that is easy to use, has the best thermal efficiency, and is inexpensive for the target heat treatment method.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the gas discharge device includes a plurality of gas discharge ports provided on the bottom plate, and gas is discharged from the gas discharge ports at a predetermined discharge rate. The number of gas outlets provided on the bottom plate is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately selected by the manufacturer according to the material to be heat-treated.

For example, when the heat treatment space of the heat treatment device is at a high temperature, the material to be processed may be easily thermally deformed due to the temperature difference of each part of itself, the temperature distribution of the heat treatment space, etc. In addition, due to this deformation, it is sometimes The flotation effect of the treated material is reduced. In order to prevent this kind of deformation, instead of exhausting the gas concentratedly on one part of the material to be processed, it is desirable to discharge the gas to the entire material to be processed as uniformly as possible in multiple parts of the material to be processed to act as a buoyancy force. Therefore, it is preferable to evenly distribute a plurality of discharge ports with respect to the material to be processed to prevent deformation. In addition, when a plurality of gas discharge devices are installed, a stable thermal environment can be maintained by adjusting the temperature and/or flow rate of the gas discharged from each device, thereby obtaining a reliable floating action. In addition, instead of a single gas discharge port, a plurality of gas discharge ports having smaller openings may be used.

On the contrary, under heat treatment conditions, as long as the material to be processed is relatively hard, it is also possible to discharge gas from the gas discharge ports that are collectively arranged directly below it to the vicinity of the center of gravity of the material to be processed. At this time, the gas discharge port can also be 1 One, instead of a plurality of gas discharge ports, in terms of stability, it is better to support with a surface than with a point, so it is sometimes better to provide a plurality of gas discharge ports in this respect.

In addition, the discharge of gas from the gas discharge port affects the flow of gas in the heat treatment space. In particular, when precise heat treatment is required, it is necessary to pay as much attention as possible to the discharge of gas necessary for flotation. For example, the gas discharged at high speed scatters unnecessary substances such as garbage adhering to the inner wall surface of the heat treatment space, and becomes a cause of containing unnecessary substances that may adversely affect the heat treatment space. Therefore, it is desirable to suppress scattering of unnecessary substances that affect the quality of the material to be processed as much as possible. For this reason, when multiple gas discharge devices are installed, it is preferable to arrange the gas discharge devices within the range where buoyancy can be applied to the material to be processed. . In other words, in the case of floating the material to be processed, it is preferable to keep the material to be processed above all the gas discharge ports of the gas discharge means that will discharge the gas that should float the material to be processed.

In addition, a gas discharge device is included so that the gas discharged from the gas discharge port is blown to the processed material vertically (usually, since the processed material is spread out in the horizontal direction, "vertical" corresponds to the vertical direction at this time), according to If necessary (as described later), the gas can also be blown to the material to be processed in a non-vertical direction.

Generally, the thickness of the material to be processed is very small compared with other dimensions, and it is often in the shape of a rectangular plate such as a rectangle or a square. The bottom plate is set to be bisected to a line parallel to the conveying direction) or its vicinity (central part) to move, at this time, the gas discharge device can also be set to be along the central line of the material to be processed (that is, the material to be processed is set to line parallel to the conveying direction) or its vicinity (central part) to discharge gas, and one or more gas discharge ports are provided in the central part of the bottom plate, or, it can also be placed on the material to be processed Below, the gas discharge devices are evenly distributed on the whole bottom plate (for example, arranged in a staggered or toothed manner).

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, when a plurality of gas discharge devices are collectively arranged, in order to make the discharge direction of the gas discharged from the gas discharge ports of each gas discharge device toward the center of the material to be processed as much as possible, at 90°( For example, in the case of a horizontally floating plate-shaped material to be processed, it refers to the direction perpendicular to it.) to 60° (from the vertical state to the state inclined at 30 degrees) to discharge gas at an angle inclined from the horizontal direction. Therefore, the distribution of the blowing force toward a predetermined part of the material to be processed, that is, the buoyancy force can be made uniform, and stable floating transportation and heat treatment can be performed. For example, all the gas from the gas discharge ports distributed below the material to be processed is discharged toward the center of the material to be processed. For example, it can implement by changing the direction of the gas discharge means, such as a nozzle, in the range of 90 degrees (vertical direction upward) - 60 degrees.

In another form, when a plurality of gas discharge devices are set, the gas discharge devices are divided into many groups, each group, in order to make the direction of the gas discharge different, for example, as mentioned above, sometimes it is better to make the gas The discharge angles are different. For example, when the material to be processed is floated with a plurality of gas discharge devices arranged in a direction perpendicular (and horizontal) to the conveyance direction, the gas discharge device that discharges gas to the central portion of the material to be processed is adjusted to discharge gas vertically upward From the central portion of the material to be processed to the edge portion, the group of gas discharge devices that discharge gas can be adjusted to discharge gas in a direction inclined from the vertical direction toward the central portion of the material to be processed. In this way, the buoyancy force of the central portion where the weight of the material to be processed is concentrated is increased, and the buoyancy force of the peripheral portion where the weight is relatively light is relatively reduced. As a result, a uniform buoyancy force can act on the entire material to be processed.

On the contrary, from the central portion of the material to be processed to the edge portion, it is actually possible to adjust the group of gas discharge devices that discharge the gas in a direction inclined from the vertical direction toward the edge portion of the material to be processed. At this time, due to the floating The force acts on the whole material to be processed, so stable floating can be produced. In either case, the discharge direction is the same as above, and it is preferable to adjust it in a prescribed manner within the range of 90° to 60°.

In one form of the gas floatation device of the present invention, it includes a bottom plate that discharges gas to the object to float the object above, and the bottom plate of the gas floatation device is provided with at least one groove on it. At least two gas outlets are arranged, and the gas outlets preferably open at the bottom of the groove without protruding upward from the main surface of the bottom plate. Therefore, in this form, a plurality of gas discharge ports are provided on the bottom plate, and these gas discharge ports are preferably connected by grooves. The entire length of the groove preferably has a width larger than the diameter of the gas discharge port. In addition, in the case of a group of gas discharge ports having openings smaller than the gas discharge ports, it is preferable that the groove portion has a width larger than the diameter of a circle including the group. Therefore, the groove portion includes a gas discharge port.

In the case where the bottom plate has a groove, the gas outlets are preferably arranged so as to be line-symmetric with respect to the center line of the bottom plate, or point-symmetrical about the center point of the bottom plate. It is better to configure line symmetry and point symmetry. The gas floatation device, in combination with the above-mentioned conveyance device, can be used as a gas floatation conveyance device. Therefore, the present invention provides a gas flotation transport device with such a gas flotation device and transport device, which is the same as before, and can be applied to a heat treatment device.

In a preferred form, a plurality of grooves radially extend from the central part of the bottom plate or its vicinity, and a gas discharge port is provided at the end of each groove on the central part side, and if necessary, a gas discharge port is also provided at the opposite end. There is a gas outlet. At this time, one end of each groove is gathered at the center of the bottom plate, but the ends are separated. In another aspect, the grooves are integrally connected at the center of the bottom plate, and the gas discharge port is provided at the center of the bottom plate connecting the grooves. In this form, a plurality of gas discharge ports may not be provided in the central part, but only one gas discharge port may be provided in the central part. A plurality of grooves extending radially. It is also preferable to arrange the grooves in a form described later with reference to the drawings. In this form, there is one gas discharge port near the center of the bottom plate, and on each diagonal line of the bottom plate, near the corner portion of the bottom plate. There are a total of 4 gas outlets. The gas outlets arranged in this way may be a large single opening or a plurality of small openings.

In such a gas floatation device, the gas discharge speed is not particularly limited, but as explained above, the gas discharge speed is preferably subsonic to sonic. In this form, the gas discharged from the discharge port collides with the object, and then advances preferentially along the groove portion toward the peripheral portion of the object. The number, depth, length, etc. of the grooves can be appropriately selected according to the material to be processed.

It is best to consider especially that after the gas is discharged from the gas discharge port, the gas flows along the groove for a long distance as far as possible, and then the discharged gas can remain for a longer time below the material to be processed (that is, the residence time is long), so it can be realized. Effective floating (on the contrary, in the case of short-distance flow, it cannot stay under the material to be processed for a long time, but flows out from the periphery of the material to be processed in a short time without generating buoyancy).

When floating on a bottom plate of a rectangular plate shape, for example, on the bottom plate, near the intersection point (that is, the central part of the bottom plate) of the diagonals of the rectangle, open a gas discharge port, from the intersection point of the diagonals of the rectangle along the diagonal Four grooves are formed so as to extend the lines, and gas discharge ports are also arranged in these grooves. This configuration is suitable for the case where the material to be processed exists substantially on the entire surface of the bottom plate.

In the heat treatment device of the present invention, since the gas is discharged into the heat treatment space, it is necessary to remove the gas from the heat treatment space. Therefore, an exhaust port is provided on the heat treatment device through which the gas is discharged from the heat treatment space. In order to prevent the scattering of unnecessary substances such as garbage generated by the gas discharge, it is preferable to provide an exhaust port on a horizontal plane (レベル) below the gas discharge device, through which the gas is recovered from the heat treatment space by the exhaust device. As a result, the gas used to float the material to be processed is quickly discharged from the heat treatment space, so that the exhaust gas is prevented from disturbing the environment in the heat treatment space, and a clean and temperature-stabilized heat treatment environment can be easily maintained.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, when a conveying member is used, it is preferable to provide a cover (or a flow control cover) above an edge portion of the conveying member along the conveying direction of the material to be processed. With this cover, the gas discharged from below the conveying member flows along the bottom surface of the conveying member and collides with the rising gas at the edge of the conveying member. Therefore, the discharged gas preferentially flows to a place below the horizontal plane of the conveying member. Set the exhaust port. Therefore, with this cover, the exhausted gas can be suppressed from flowing to the upper surface side of the material to be processed. Thereby, it is possible to suppress scattering of unnecessary substances such as garbage generated by gas discharge on the side of the material to be processed. That is, the cover does not disturb the environment in the heat treatment space, suppresses the flow fluctuation of the gas on the side of the material to be processed, and prevents scattering of unnecessary substances such as garbage.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, it is sometimes necessary to process the material to be processed in a clean environment. At this time, it is necessary to use a gas with a high degree of cleanliness as the gas discharged from the gas discharge device. To clean the exhausted gas, it is best to filter the gas using a gas cleaning device such as a medium-performance filter or a high-performance filter of a certain performance that is commonly used in a clean room or a clean bench. For example, metal mesh or multi-layer construction filters can be used. In addition, depending on the situation, it is also necessary to remove the gas or particulate matter generated during the heat treatment from the heat treatment environment including factors that adversely affect the quality of the material to be treated when it is attached to the material to be processed. A gas cleaning device for the removal of substances. In addition, if necessary, it is also important to maintain clean gas when circulating the gas in the heat treatment space to effectively use heat. In this case, it is only necessary to use a gas cleaning device such as a filter that can withstand the heat treatment temperature environment. .

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, after dehumidifying the surrounding atmosphere by pressurizing it with a compressor, as dry air, when using air called factory air used for the power of the production line as floating gas, the air is It is charged in a dry state, so it is easy to contain fine garbage. Therefore, in order to blow directly on the material to be processed to make it float, as the ambient gas for heat treatment, if the factory air is used, dust will adhere to the material to be processed. For example, if the material to be processed is an insulating material, it will cause a short circuit. And other reasons, often have a greater impact on the quality of the processed materials. It is best to take appropriate measures to eliminate the various problems caused by the electrification of the gas. For example, the ions generated by the ion generator using corona discharge can be mixed with the gas for electrical neutralization, or the humidification of the gas or the use of a grounded gas neutralization device using a metal filter to remove the ions carried in the gas. Static electricity, it is best to install this device in the piping system of the gas supply device.

In the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention, since the material to be processed is moved in the heat treatment space by means of the moving transport device in a state where the material to be processed is floating, there is no frictional resistance between the material to be processed and other members such as the bottom plate, And since the material to be processed can be moved, the material to be processed can be moved very easily. Therefore, during the moving period, the material to be processed must be in a floating state, and after the material to be processed has moved to a specified position, the discharge of gas is stopped, and the material to be processed is placed on the bottom plate for specified heat treatment. When this heat treatment is finished, as before, the material to be processed is floated by gas, moved to the next heat treatment area by a moving conveyor and subjected to the next heat treatment.

This heat treatment device can be used for heat treatment of raw material substrates or intermediate product substrates for manufacturing plasma display panels (PDP) or solar cell panels. Substrate materials for such panels can be formed from ceramics, glass (soda glass, high deformation point glass, and other glass materials), metal, and other structural materials. In addition, the heat treatment of the material to be processed is, for example, for a plasma display panel, the drying of conductive materials such as silver and tin oxide, electrolyte materials, red/green/blue phosphor materials, insulating materials, etc. Firing, film formation, and also for solar panels, drying, firing, and film formation of transparent conductive materials such as silver and tin oxide, semiconductor materials, etc. placed on the substrate.

Fig. 1 schematically shows an exploded perspective view of a gas discharge device of a gas flotation device that can be used in the gas flotation transport device of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing the assembled state of the gas discharge device shown in Fig. 1 .

Fig. 3 schematically shows a perspective view of a gas flotation device that can be used in the gas flotation transport device of the present invention.

Fig. 4 schematically shows a perspective view of another gas flotation device that can be used in the gas flotation transport device of the present invention.

Fig. 5 schematically shows a state in which one form of the gas discharge device constituting the gas flotation device usable in the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is viewed from the end in the conveying direction of the material to be processed.

Fig. 6 schematically shows an example of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention viewed from the end of the heat treatment apparatus.

Fig. 7 is a side sectional view of the heat treatment device schematically showing various states of the gas floating transport sequence of the heat treatment device in the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a side sectional view of the heat treatment device schematically showing one state of the gas floating transport sequence of the heat treatment device in the present invention.

Fig. 9 schematically shows a state subsequent to the state shown in Fig. 8 as a side sectional view of the heat treatment apparatus in the gas floating transport sequence of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a side sectional view schematically showing a state next to the state shown in Fig. 9 in the gas floating transport sequence of the heat processing apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 11 schematically shows a state subsequent to the state shown in Fig. 10 as a side sectional view of the heat treatment apparatus in the gas floating transport sequence of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a graph schematically showing the temperature change of the material to be processed and the set temperature of the heat treatment space when the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention is used.

Fig. 13(a) and (b) schematically show the holding and conveying mechanism of the treated material using chain type or wire rope type.

Fig. 14 schematically shows a shaft-type holding and conveying mechanism for the material to be processed.

Fig. 15 schematically shows a perspective view of the heat treatment device of the present invention in the form of air-floating push-tray delivery.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view schematically showing a transport mechanism inside the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention shown in Fig. 15 .

Fig. 17 schematically shows an example of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention viewed from the end of the heat treatment apparatus.

Fig. 18 schematically shows a base plate provided with a gas discharge device of the present invention in a perspective view.

Fig. 19 is a perspective view of a general mesh-belt transport type heat treatment device in the prior art.

Fig. 20 is a heat estimation line diagram of a conventional general heat treatment furnace.

Now in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the present invention will be described in detail by taking a specific embodiment as an example.

Fig. 1 schematically shows an exploded perspective view of an example of a gas discharge device of a gas floating device that can be used in the gas floating transport device of the present invention. The gas discharge device 110 has a nozzle plate 114 (functioning as a bottom plate) provided with a plurality of gas discharge ports 112 on the entire surface, and an intermediate plate 118 similarly provided with openings 116, and an electric heater 120 is arranged above the intermediate plate 118. . The electric heater 120 and the intermediate plate 118 are arranged in the lower case 112 , and the nozzle plate 114 is placed on the lower case 122 . In addition, an air pipe 124 is connected to the bottom surface of the lower case 122, and air is supplied to the gas discharge device 110 from a gas supply device (not shown). discharge in an upward direction. Preferably, the structure is such that the area of the nozzle plate 114 is set at 90 to 100% of the area of the surface of the material to be processed, and the gas discharged from the gas outlet actually collides with the material to be processed at first. , while easing the energy of the discharged gas, it is difficult to scatter unnecessary substances to the top of the material to be processed.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a side cross-sectional view of the gas discharge device 110 formed by assembling the exploded perspective view shown in FIG. 1 . The nozzle plate 114 is attached to the lower case 122 at four corners with bolts 126 . The middle plate 118 is attached to the lower case 122 at a certain height by bolts 129 with gaskets 128 . The electric heater 120 is provided on the middle plate 118 through a spacer 128 for avoiding the thermal expansion difference between the electric heater 120 and the middle plate 118 . The pressurized air supplied through the air pipe 124 connected to the center of the lower casing 122 is rectified by the intermediate plate 118, heated by the electric heater 120, and then discharged from the gas discharge port 112 of the nozzle plate 114 at a subsonic to sonic speed. speed discharge. In the illustrated form, the electric heater 120 heats the nozzle plate in addition to heating the air, and the heated nozzle plate is placed on the material to be processed (not shown) floating by the exhausted gas or when the exhaust gas is stopped. The material to be processed on the nozzle plate 114 is heated for heat treatment.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a perspective view of a gas floating device 132 that can be used in the gas floating transport device of the present invention, which is composed of a gas discharge device 110 and a gas supply device 130 as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 . In the illustrated form, the gas discharge device 110 has an electric heater 120 inside, and the gas supply pipe 124 of the gas supply device 130 has a gas cleaning filter 134 and an ion generator 136 using corona discharge in the middle. As a result, fine substances can be removed from the gas discharged from the gas discharge device 110, and static electricity of the gas can be removed. In the illustrated form, the gas supply pipe 124 is branched in the middle, and a single gas supply device supplies gas to a plurality of gas discharge devices arranged in a direction (direction indicated by an arrow) perpendicular to the conveying direction of the material to be processed. . When the gas discharge device is arranged in this way, thermal deformation of the material to be processed can be prevented and stable transportation can be performed. In addition, many gas discharge ports (not shown) may be provided on the gas discharge device 110 arranged in this way and divided into a plurality of groups to adjust the uniformity of heat treatment of the material to be processed and the flow rate of the discharged gas. In the heat treatment device, such gas floating devices are arranged along the conveying direction of the material to be processed (direction perpendicular to the arrow), and can be combined with an appropriate conveying device to form the heat treatment device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows the same gas flotation device 132 as in FIG. 3 . In the heat exchanger 138 arranged in the middle of the gas supply pipe 124, the heat of the gas obtained by exchanging heat with the high-temperature medium 140 and the discharged gas is used as an energy source for heat treatment of the material to be processed. That is, the heated gas discharged from the gas discharge device 110 forms a heat treatment environment while floating the material to be processed, thereby heat-treating the material to be processed. When the discharge of gas is only to float the processed material, in the heated gas that is only discharged, there is often not enough heat supplied, so in the form shown in the figure, the electric heater is omitted, but it is best to be the same as in Figure 3 , together with an electric heater.

Fig. 5 is a view of a gas discharge device 110 constituting a gas flotation device that can be used in the heat treatment device of the present invention viewed from an end in the conveying direction of the material to be processed, that is, a schematic view viewed from a side perpendicular to the conveying direction Arrived. The illustrated gas discharge device 110 discharges gas supplied through a gas supply pipe 124 from gas discharge ports 112 uniformly distributed over the entire nozzle plate 114 at a subsonic to sonic discharge speed to float the transport member 142 . The material to be processed (for example, a glass substrate) 144 is placed on the conveying member, and the material to be processed is indirectly floated by the floating of the conveying member, and is conveyed by a conveying device (not shown) in this state.

An electric heater 120 is arranged below the nozzle plate 114 to heat the nozzle plate 114 and stop the discharge of gas to heat-treat the material 144 placed on the conveyance member 142 on the nozzle plate 114 . The heat treatment may be performed with the nozzle plate 114 in a state where the material to be processed 144 is floating. In addition, in the illustrated form, the electric heater 120 arranged in the width direction can be used in the gas discharge device to perform heat treatment with improved uniformity, and the discharged gas can also be heated by the electric heater 120. .

Fig. 6 schematically shows an example of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention seen from the end of the heat treatment apparatus (or a cross section in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the material to be processed). The illustrated form is applicable, for example, to a case where a glass substrate for a plasma discharge display panel or a solar cell panel is used as a non-processing material and heat-treated in a heat treatment apparatus.

The heat treatment device 170 shown in the figure has a heat treatment space 174 surrounded by a heat insulating wall 172, and a flat heater 176 for upper surface heating is arranged on the ceiling side, thereby facing the glass substrate 144 placed on the transport member 142 from above. for heating. The pressurized air is discharged from the gas discharge port 112 provided on the upper surface of the gas discharge device 110 through the air pipes 124 respectively connected to the three gas discharge devices 110 disposed along the width direction of the material 144 to be processed, and blown to the bottom surface of the transport member 142 , the glass substrate 144 is floated together with the transport member 142 .

At this time, when unnecessary substances such as garbage scattered by the air discharged from the gas discharge port adhere to the upper surface of the glass substrate 144, it will adversely affect the quality of the substrate. A covered cover 178 is provided above the edge of the member 142 as a flow control cover, whereby the exhausted gas is suppressed from flowing to the upper side of the glass substrate 144, and quickly passes through the exhaust port provided below the horizontal plane of the glass substrate 144. 182 and exhaust the gas out of the heat treatment space through the exhaust pipe 184.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a heat treatment apparatus having a gas floating conveyance device of the present invention, that is, the state of the heat treatment apparatus viewed from the side with respect to the conveyance direction of the material to be processed. In the heat treatment space 7 of the heat treatment apparatus 8 , a plurality of substrates 1 serving as materials to be processed are respectively placed on trays 2 serving as transport members. The trays 2 are adjacently arranged without gaps along a predetermined direction in the horizontal direction from left to right.

These to-be-processed materials 1 are, for example, heated to a predetermined temperature for heat treatment, and a heating device 6 is disposed in a heat treatment space 7 for such heating. In order to make the tray 2 loaded with the material to be processed 1 move from left to right in sequence and transport through the heat treatment space 7, the tray 2 arranged adjacent to the left end of the heat treatment space 7 is pushed in the right horizontal direction, and the tray 2 The push-type pushing device 4 (also referred to as "tray pushing device" or "pusher") supplied into the heat treatment space serves as a conveying device.

Since a plurality of trays 2 are actually arranged in a predetermined direction without gaps between them, when the last tray 2 is pushed into the heat treatment space 7, for each tray except the frontmost tray 2, The pallets in turn transmit the pushing force to the pallets located further in front, so that all the pallets are transported to the front. In order to reliably transport the tray 2 on which the material to be processed 1 is placed in the heat treatment space, there must be no gap between adjacent trays 2, and in order to stabilize the position of the tray when it floats due to gas floating, it must be connected with the supply. A tray holding device 5 is provided on the side of the discharge section opposite to the tray pusher 4 on the side of the discharge section.

Tray holding device 5 has the opposite effect of pushing action with pallet pushing device 4 (thus, these trays 2 are kept in the state of being clamped by pushing device 4 and holding device 5), in heat treatment space 7, can be stable and Ensure the adjacency status of tray 2. In addition, in the device of the form shown in FIG. 1 , except for the last tray 2, when focusing on each tray 2, the tray 2 that abuts against the rear end of the tray, especially the front end of the tray 2, is the one that abuts against the rear end of the tray. It can be said that it functions as a conveying device.

In addition, in the illustrated form, the material to be processed 1 is placed on the tray 2, but when the material to be processed is in the shape of a plate with a certain thickness, the tray may be omitted and the gas may be blown directly to the material to be processed. make it float. Therefore, in that case, as before, when focusing on a certain material to be processed, the abutment member is the material to be processed immediately following the material to be processed, especially its front end, which acts as a conveying member. Function.

As described above, when the pallet 2 is transported forward (to the right in the figure), from the state shown in FIG. A gas supply device (not shown) supplies gas to the gas floating device 3 from outside the system, and the gas is discharged from a gas discharge device such as a nozzle, and the discharged gas is blown onto the bottom surface of the tray 2 on which the substrate 1 is placed. Thereby, as shown in FIG.7(b), the tray 2 floats up by the floating amount (or height) according to the quantity of the supplied gas.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7( c ), by ensuring the adjoining state of the trays 2 with the holding device 5, and pushing the tray 2 on the supply side in the right horizontal direction with the pusher 4, the plurality of trays arranged in adjacent contact with each other Force is transmitted between them, and the whole of the floating tray 2 moves to the right. At this time, since there is an air layer between the gas floating device 3 and the tray 2, the friction force hardly acts when the tray is moved, and it can be pushed in with a relatively small force.

As shown in FIG. 7( d), when the air supply is stopped at the moment when the movement and transportation of one tray is completed, the tray is placed on the gas floating device 3 in a contact state, and then the tray 2 is held in the heat treatment space. For a specified time, a specified heat treatment can be performed. Next, move the pushing device to the left and set the new tray 2 on the left end, then take out the tray at the right end to obtain the processed material 2 after heat treatment, and then one movement cycle is completed. In this way, the following process is regarded as one cycle: floating process (b) using gas generation → moving process (c) when floating using a pushing device → placing process (d) on a gas floating device with gas stopped → Heat treatment process→removal of treated material and supply of unprocessed material (a)→floating process (b) using gas generation, by repeating the process, the material is moved sequentially and heat-treated .

8 to 11 are schematic cross-sectional views along the conveying direction of the processed material, showing in more detail the states of such floating conveyance of the processed material. Figure 8 corresponds to Figure 7(a), Figure 9 corresponds to Figure 7(b), Figure 10 corresponds to Figure 7(c), and Figure 11 corresponds to Figure 7(d). In these drawings, only two heat treatment spaces are simply shown, and the material to be processed is directly transported by floating without using a transport member. In addition, the transport device is also omitted.

The heat treatment device 50 has heat treatment spaces 52 and 52 ′ separated by a partition wall 54 . The heat treatment is performed under heat treatment conditions set by controlling the upper and lower heaters 58 arranged between the heat treatment space and the heat insulating material 56 . In the heat treatment space, a bottom plate 62 having gas discharge nozzles 60 is disposed as gas discharge means, and gas (for example, air) to be discharged from branched gas supply pipes 64 serving as gas supply means is supplied there. The supply of gas can be controlled by opening and closing the valve 66 . The state shown in FIG. 8 is a state in which the valve 66 is closed and the material 68 to be processed (for example, a glass substrate) is placed on the bottom plate 62 . In addition, in the illustrated form, the materials to be processed 68 are arranged at intervals, but when the ends of the materials to be processed 68 also serve as abutting members that push the material to be processed ahead, there is actually no such member. interval. In addition, the heater 58 is covered by a glass cover 70 so that the heater 58 does not directly expose the heat treatment space.

In the state shown in FIG. 9 , the valve 66 is opened, and as a result, the gas is blown from the opening of the gas discharge nozzle 60 to the material to be processed. The material 68 to be processed is floating, which is different from FIG. 8 , but other features It is the same as Fig. 8 .

In the state shown in FIG. 10 , the floating to-be-processed material 68 is shown moving to the right by a transport member (not shown) as indicated by a large arrow. For example, the material to be processed 68 may be moved by an abutting member attached to a chain, or a pusher method may be used.

In the state shown in FIG. 11, the following state is represented: after the prescribed movement shown in FIG. 10 is completed, and the material to be processed is moved to the next heat treatment space, by closing the valve 66 and stopping the discharge of gas from the gas discharge device, Thereby, as indicated by the arrow, the material to be processed descends and is placed on the bottom plate. Then, heat treatment is performed until the next flotation process. Of course, during the period from the above-mentioned state of FIG. 8 to the state of FIG. 11 , since the heat treatment space also maintains predetermined conditions, heat treatment is also performed during this period.

FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the temperature conditions of the heat treatment and the heat treatment chambers #1 to #8 constituting the heat treatment space 52 of the heat treatment apparatus 50 . In the above graph, the vertical axis is the temperature, and the horizontal axis represents the position of the heat treatment space (related to the heat treatment chamber). The location of the heat treatment chamber corresponds to the heat treatment apparatus shown schematically under the curve. In the graph, the solid line represents the temperature of the material to be processed 68, and the thick dotted line represents the set temperature of each heat treatment chamber. Heat treatment chamber #8 is a cooling area, and since active heating is not performed, the set temperature is not indicated. In the illustrated form, while passing through the heat treatment chambers #1 to #8, the temperature of the material to be processed changes as shown in the graph, whereby predetermined heat treatment is completed.

Heat treatment does not necessarily have to be carried out only when it is placed on the gas floating device. If the specified heat treatment conditions are maintained in the heat treatment space, it does not matter whether the material to be treated floats or does not float, as long as it exists in the heat treatment space, it will continue to be treated. heat treatment. In addition, it is not necessarily necessary to perform the mounting step on the gas floating device in which the gas is stopped, and the heat treatment may be performed while maintaining the floating state. However, in order to suppress the air consumption for floating and the heat taken away by the environment in the heat treatment space, it is preferable to move the material to be processed intermittently by repeating flotation and loading.

Fig. 13 schematically shows another form of gas floating transportation device of the present invention. And Fig. 13(a) is a perspective view, Fig. 13(b) is a plan view, for the sake of simplicity, the gas floating device is omitted. In FIG. 13 , continuous members 10 such as chains, belts, or wire ropes that move in a predetermined moving direction (horizontal rightward direction indicated by arrows) of the material to be processed 9 are arranged on both sides of the transport path of the material to be processed ( Only one side is shown in FIG. 13( a ). Such a continuous member moves in a predetermined direction by transmitting power such as a motor through rollers, gears, and the like.

On the continuous member 10, there is fastened an abutment member 11 which is in contact with the rear end of the processed material 9 floated by the gas flotation device. As a result, the material to be processed 9 is pushed, whereby the material to be processed 9 moves in a predetermined direction. When the movement of the continuous member 10 is stopped, the abutment member 11 stops, that is, the abutment member 11 does not push the material 9 to be processed, and the material 9 to be processed stops in a floating state. After the stop, if necessary, the discharge of gas may be stopped, and the material to be processed may be placed on a gas floating device (not shown), and the heat treatment may be continued. After a predetermined time elapses, the gas is exhausted again to float the material to be processed, and then the continuous member 10 is moved to move the material to be processed to a predetermined position.

In the illustrated form, only one to-be-processed material is shown, but actually a plurality of such to-be-processed materials 9 may be arranged at equal intervals, and contact members 11 may be arranged between these to-be-processed materials (thus, The abutting members are arranged at a distance at least equivalent to the length of the material to be processed). Therefore, in the illustrated form, the transport device is a continuous member 10 having an abutment member 11 .

In addition, in the form shown in FIG. 13( b ), contact members 11 are arranged on both sides of the material to be processed, and additional contact members 11 ′ are arranged at the front end of the material to be processed. In this way, when the material to be processed 9 is stopped, the movement of the material to be processed due to inertia can be prevented as much as possible, and the material to be processed can be reliably stopped at a predetermined position. In another form, when focusing on a specific one to-be-processed material, the contact member 11 located ahead can function as the additional contact member.

The gas floating device may have any appropriate form, and may be as shown in FIG. 7 . Such a gas floating conveyance device is arranged in the heat treatment space. The heat treatment and transport of the material to be treated can actually be performed in the same manner as described with reference to the above-mentioned FIG. 1 , by repeating a cycle of combining floating, moving, and heat treatment. In addition, in the form shown in FIG. 13, the discharge of the gas is continuously performed without stopping, and by making the movement of the continuous member very slow, the material to be processed can also be conveyed continuously.

The object can be achieved by providing at least one abutment member 11, but the number can be increased according to the material to be processed, or the structure of the abutment member itself can be appropriately changed. Usually, it is preferable to perform abutting near two corners of the rear end of the material to be processed, so it is preferable to use two abutting members as shown in FIG. 13(b). When the width of the material 9 to be processed is large, the abutment member may be provided near the central portion of the rear end, or the left and right abutment members 11 may be connected.

Fig. 14 schematically shows a gas floating conveyance device according to still another embodiment of the present invention in a perspective view (approximate to a view of a material to be processed viewed obliquely from above). In FIG. 14 , the gas floatation device is also omitted as in FIG. 13 . In the illustrated form, the reciprocating elongated member 12 having the abutment member 13 functions as a conveying device, thereby making the material to be processed pass through a predetermined time, a predetermined position, and in a predetermined direction (thick hollow arrow). A structure that moves for delivery. In this structure, since the elongated member does not protrude substantially from the heat treatment space, the loss of heat energy carried away is small. In addition, even in the case of the continuous member shown in FIG. 13 , the part returning from the discharge part to the supply part also passes through the heat treatment space, so that the loss of heat energy can be reduced.

FIG. 14 shows a transfer sequence in which the shaft member 12 , which is a long member provided with contact members 13 at equal intervals slightly longer than the length of the material 14 in the transfer direction, performs a combination of reciprocating and rotating motions. The contact member 13 is fastened to the elongate member 12 so as to contact the rear end of the material 14 to be processed at least when it floats up. Since the gas is not exhausted, there is no problem even if the abutment member 13 comes into contact with the material to be processed 14 when the material to be processed is placed on the gas floating device.

Initially, the gas is blown vigorously by the gas discharge device of the gas floatation device to float the material 14 to be processed, so that the material 14 to be processed is located between the abutting members 13, and becomes the state shown in Fig. 14(a). When the direction of the arrow (thin hollow arrow) makes the long member 12 linearly move only the distance between the abutment members 13, since the abutment member 13 pushes the rear end of the material to be processed forward, each material to be processed 14 advances forward, And move forward only 1 processed material distance.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14(b), as shown by a thin arrow, the elongated member 12 is rotated around its axis, and then, as shown in FIG. 14(c), the elongated member 12 is linearly moved in the opposite direction. distance, and then, as shown in FIG. 14( d ), the long member is rotated, and when the material to be processed at least floats up, the abutting member 13 can abut against the material to be processed. The angle at which the long member is rotated is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, about 90°. In this way, by repeating (a)→(b)→(c)→(d)→(a), the material to be processed can be conveyed intermittently.

In addition, in the form shown in FIG. 14 of another form, depending on the structure and size (especially the length in the vertical direction) of the contact member, the contact member 13 can contact the material to be processed 14 only when the material to be processed floats up, When the material to be processed is not floating, the abutment member does not interfere with the linear movement of the long member. At this point, do not rotate the long member. In addition, heat treatment can also be performed at any time.

Fig. 15 schematically shows a heat treatment device equipped with a gas floating transport device of the present invention. The illustrated form shows the heat treatment apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 to 11 more specifically in partially cutaway perspective views. In addition, FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a gas floating transport device that can be used in the heat treatment device shown in FIG. 15 .

The heat treatment apparatus 20 of the present invention is an apparatus for heat-treating, for example, a substrate material of a plasma display panel as a final product. Its structure is that the last carrier tray 16' on which the glass substrate 15 as the material to be processed is placed is pushed into the processing space by the tray pushing device 18 arranged on the side of the supply part (infeeder), and is sequentially moved into the processing space. It moves forward, thereby being transported to the heat treatment space inside the heat treatment apparatus 20 . At this time, in the heat treatment space, the plurality of carrier trays 16 are arranged adjacent to and in contact with each other. The carrier tray 16 has a depth sufficiently larger than the base plate 15 in a direction perpendicular to the direction to be moved, and by pushing the last carrier tray 16 on the supply side, the force is sequentially transmitted to the carrier trays arranged in front of the device. Above all, this mode of transport is the propulsion mode mentioned above.

When the tray pusher 18 is operated, the carrier tray 16 needs to be floated, and it uses the compressor built in the heat treatment device to supply pressurized air to the air floating member 17, and blows the gas to the back side of the tray to float the tray. The heat treatment may be performed by an appropriate method at any appropriate time while the material to be processed is present in the heat treatment space. The substrate 15 after the heat treatment is separated from the carrier tray 16 by the carrier tray lifter 19 on the side of the discharge unit, and the substrate 15 is taken out of the heat treatment apparatus 20 .

In addition, if a transport device installed outside the heat treatment apparatus or on the bottom side of the heat treatment apparatus is used, it is also possible to reversely transport the carrier tray to the supply part (introducer) side, and place the glass substrate for the next heat treatment and supply it again. into the heat treatment space.

In the gas floating transportation device shown in FIG. 16 , for the pallets 22 arranged in a row that are floated by supplying gas to the gas floating device 23, the last pallet 22 is pushed forward by the pusher 25 of the pallet pushing device, Thereby, the tray located ahead is moved forward. At this time, the holding device 27 of the tray holding device of the discharge unit can move forward in conjunction with the pushing of the pusher 25 . When the pushing of the pusher 25 ends, the pusher 25 returns to its original state (in the direction opposite to the arrow), and the next tray can be placed. In addition, on the discharge part side, after the material to be processed that has completed heat treatment is taken out, the holding device 27 just get back to original state (to the opposite direction with arrow). 26 and 28 represent the drive system used to transmit power to the pusher and retainer.

Fig. 17 schematically shows another example of the heat treatment apparatus of the present invention viewed from one side along the direction in which the material to be processed is moved in the heat treatment apparatus. In the illustrated form, for example, a plurality of transport members 142 in the form of a transport tray are arranged in the heat treatment space 174 in contact with each other, and the material 144 to be treated 144 to be heat treated is placed therein. During conveyance along (indicated by arrows) the moving direction, the gas floating conveyance member 142 is discharged from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device 110 disposed below it in the range of subsonic speed to sonic speed, and is transported by the conveyance device (not shown). shown) to move. When the movement is completed, the discharge of the gas is stopped, thereby stopping the floating state of the transport member, and a predetermined heat treatment is performed.

In the illustrated form, the transport member 142 has a dimension (or depth) 186 that is sufficiently larger than the thickness of the target object in a direction perpendicular to the direction (arrow) in which the target object should move, and the distance between the adjacent transport members Finally, when a force is applied in the direction in which the material to be processed is to be moved, the force is transmitted from the last conveying member to the preceding conveying member adjacent to it, and from this conveying member to the preceding conveying member, so that , the force is transmitted sequentially. Therefore, by pushing the last conveying member 188 forward (moving direction), all the supporting members preceding it can be moved. Therefore, in the illustrated form, the conveying device is a device that pushes the conveying member into the heat treatment device from the outside, such as the pusher 190 .

Such a transport device can also be called a pusher type (or plug-in type), and when it is placed in the heat treatment space 174, it can move the processed material 144 as the object placed on the transport member 142 sequentially, and here During heat treatment. The conveying member itself is floated by the gas blown from the gas discharge device 110 located below it, so there is only frictional resistance with the gas under the conveying member, and the force required to move the conveying member should be minimal. . This aspect is suitable in that it is not necessary to provide a conveying device that applies force to them in the heat treatment space in order to move the material to be processed or the conveying member.

FIG. 18 schematically shows a perspective view of a bottom plate 84 having an opening for arranging the gas discharge port 82 of the gas discharge device 80 . In the preferred form shown in the drawings, the end face of the nozzle as the gas discharge means is arranged on the opening of the bottom plate, and the openings are connected by the groove 86 provided on the bottom plate. In the illustrated form, a total of four gas discharge devices are arranged at the central portion of the bottom plate and near the corners on the diagonal line of the bottom plate. On the end face of the gas discharge device, there are gas discharge ports with small openings in groups, from which the gas is discharged to the material to be processed. In such a form, the gas discharged from the gas discharge port 82 collides with the object, and then tends to advance preferentially along the groove portion. In addition, since the discharged gas passes through the grooves, it is easy to spread uniformly throughout the plate, so the gas used for flotation can be effectively used, and as a result, the amount of gas used can be reduced.

In the illustrated form, the grooves are formed line-symmetrically and point-symmetrically on the upper surface of the bottom plate. In one preferred embodiment, the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the groove is rectangular or semicircular, and the depth of the groove is a so-called taper shape that becomes shallower as the distance from the discharge port increases.

In addition, although the present invention is mainly used as an example for heat treatment, the above-mentioned floating device, gas floating transport device, and heat treatment device of the present invention are used for cooling or processing an object or a material to be processed. In the case of constant temperature treatment and in the case of subjecting to various temperature changes, it can be used in the same manner as above. The difference is the difference between applying heat to the object, removing heat, or blocking the entry and exit of heat, and the above-mentioned description about the floating and transportation of the object is also compatible with heat treatment other than heat treatment.

Conventional belt conveyor transport type heat treatment equipment has a larger heat capacity than the belt transport system, requires a large amount of gas even in the gas floatation transport system, and has problems such as dust generation due to wear of the transport device and deterioration of quality Compared with the gas flotation device (or method) of the present invention, the gas flotation transport device (or method), or the heat treatment device (or method) utilizing it, a smaller amount of gas can be blown to the treated space in the heat treatment space. The material to be processed is moved and transported in a state where the material is made to float. As a result, the mechanical structure that enters and exits the heat treatment space can be minimized, and the quality of the material to be processed during heat treatment can be ensured. The thermal energy waste caused by the mechanical heat removal of the system.

Claims (35)

1. A floating device characterized in that the target object is floated by discharging gas from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device toward the target object at a predetermined discharge speed in the range of subsonic velocity to sonic velocity. 2. The flotation device according to claim 1, wherein the discharge velocity of the gas is in the range of Mach number 0.4-1.0. 3. A floating device, which is a floating device composed of a bottom plate that discharges gas from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device to the object so that the object floats above, and is characterized in that the bottom plate has a plurality of gas discharge ports , These gas outlets are connected to each other by grooves formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate. 4 . The floating device according to claim 3 , wherein the grooves are formed point-symmetrically and/or line-symmetrically on the bottom plate, and gas outlets are formed at the ends and middle of the grooves. 5. The floating device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the gas is discharged from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device to the object at a predetermined discharge speed in the range of subsonic speed to sonic speed, thereby floating the object . 6. A gas floating transportation device, characterized in that the floating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which uses gas to float the object in the processing space and is transported by the transportation device, is a gas floating device. device made. 7. A heat treatment device for a material to be processed as an object, characterized by comprising the gas floating transport device as claimed in claim 6 and a heat treatment space. 8. The heat treatment apparatus as claimed in claim 7, comprising a plurality of gas floating devices arranged along the conveying direction of the material to be processed. 9. The heat treatment device according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the gas floating devices are arranged in several rows along the conveying direction of the material to be processed. 10. The heat treatment apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the material to be processed is placed on the transport member, and the material to be processed is floated by floating the transport member as the object. 11. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising a flow control cover positioned above an edge portion of the conveying member along a conveying direction of the material to be processed. 12. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the exhaust port for exhausting the exhausted gas is provided at a position lower than the level of the material to be processed. 13. A gas flotation method, characterized in that gas acting as a force for floating the object is discharged toward the object at a predetermined discharge speed in the subsonic to sonic range from a gas discharge port of a gas discharge device. 14. A gas floating transport method, characterized in that, when the material to be treated is transported by using gas to float, the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device acts on the object at a predetermined discharge speed in the subsonic to sonic range. The floating gas is discharged to the material to be processed and moved by the conveying device. 15. A heat treatment method, characterized in that when the material to be processed is transported by using gas to float, the gas that acts to float the object is applied to the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device at a predetermined discharge speed in the subsonic to sonic range. Forced gas is discharged to the material to be processed, and is moved in the heat treatment space by the conveying device. 16. The heat treatment method according to claim 15, wherein the material to be treated is a raw material product or an intermediate product substrate of a plasma display panel or a solar cell panel as a final product. 17. The heat treatment method according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the gas is discharged from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device to the object, so that the floating height of the object as the distance between the bottom plate and the material to be processed is 0.2 ~1mm range to make the processed material float. 18. A gas floating transportation device, which is a device that uses gas to float the processed material in the heat treatment space and transports it along a predetermined direction in order to heat treat the processed material. It is composed of a gas floating device and a transportation device, and is characterized in that , The gas floating device includes: a gas discharge device for blowing gas to a part of the processed material acting as a buoyant force in order to float the processed material; and a gas supply device for supplying gas to the gas discharge device, The conveying device is composed of an abutment member that abuts against the rear end of the floating material to be processed and moves in the predetermined direction. By moving the abutment member, the material to be processed is pushed, and the floating material to be processed is moved in the predetermined direction. move. 19. The gas flotation transport device according to claim 18, characterized in that the material to be processed is transported intermittently, and the gas flotation device floats the material to be processed only when moving. 20. The gas floatation transport device according to claim 18 or 19, wherein a plurality of materials to be processed are arranged in a row along the predetermined direction. 21. The gas floating transport device according to any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein the abutting member is a front end of another material to be processed that contacts a rear end of the material to be processed. 22. The gas floatation transport device according to any one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that the abutting member is actually at equal intervals along the length of the material to be processed and faces along the predetermined direction in the heat treatment space. Continuous members moving ahead are fastened. 23. The gas floatation transport device according to any one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that the abutting member is actually at equal intervals along the length of the material to be processed and faces in the heat treatment space along the predetermined direction. The long member moving back and forth is fastened, and the contact state of the contact member and the material to be processed is in contact/non-contact state according to the rotation of the long member around the longitudinal axis. 24. A gas floating transportation method, which is a method of using a gas floating device in a heat treatment space to float the processed material by using gas in order to heat treat the processed material, and then transporting it in a predetermined direction by using the transportation device, It is characterized in that, The gas flotation device blows the gas supplied by the gas supply device from the gas discharge device to a part of the material to be processed to float the material to be processed, The transport device has a contact member that moves in the predetermined direction. The contact member contacts the rear end of the floating material to be processed, and the material to be processed is pushed by moving the contact member, thereby moving the floating material to be processed to Move in the specified direction. 25. The gas floating transport method according to claim 24, wherein the material to be processed is placed on the transport member, and the abutting member, instead of the material to be processed, abuts against the rear end of the transport member and pushes the transport member , and as a result, the material to be processed is moved in a predetermined direction. 26. The gas floating transportation method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the transportation member is a disc or a plate-shaped member made of quartz glass material or ceramic material, and the gas is blown to the back side of the surface on which the material to be processed is placed. And the effect of buoyancy. 27. A heat treatment device, characterized in that the gas floating transportation device according to any one of claims 18-23 is provided in the heat treatment space. 28. The heat treatment device according to claim 27, further comprising a supply unit for supplying the material to be processed to the heat treatment space in front of the heat treatment space, and a discharge unit for taking the material to be processed from the heat treatment space behind the heat treatment space. The supply part and the discharge part have the same gas flotation device and transport device as the heat treatment space. 29. The heat treatment device as claimed in claim 27 or 28, wherein the gas floating device is composed of a base plate that discharges gas from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device to the object so that the object is floated above, and the base plate has multiple The gas outlets are connected to each other by grooves formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate. 30. The heat treatment apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the grooves are formed on the bottom plate in point-symmetric and/or line-symmetrical manner, and gas outlets are formed at the ends and middle of the grooves. 31. A heat treatment method, which is a method of heat treating a material to be processed, characterized in that, in a heat treatment space set to a predetermined heat condition, the above-mentioned gas floating transportation device is used, and (1) is floated with a gas The process of floating the material to be processed by exhausting gas from the device, (2) the process of moving the material to be processed in a predetermined direction by the conveying device, and (3) stopping the discharge of gas and placing the material to be processed on the bottom plate of the heat treatment space ( or the bottom) at least once or more, and are carried out in the order of (1) → (2) → (3) (the initial process can also be any one), so that the material to be processed is temporarily retained and passed through heat treatment In the space, during the passage, the material to be processed is heat-treated by the heat conditions placed in the heat treatment space. 32. The heat treatment method according to claim 31, wherein the gas is discharged from the gas discharge port of the gas discharge device to the material to be processed at a predetermined discharge speed in the subsonic to sonic range, thereby floating the material to be processed. 33. The heat treatment method according to claim 32, wherein the exhaust velocity of the gas is in the range of Mach number 0.4 to 1.0. 34. The heat treatment method according to any one of claims 31 to 33, wherein the material to be processed is placed on the conveying member, and the abutting member abuts against the rear end of the conveying member instead of the material to be processed and The transport member is pushed, and as a result, the material to be processed is moved in a predetermined direction. 35. The heat treatment method according to any one of claims 31 to 34, wherein the material to be treated is a raw material substrate or an intermediate product substrate for manufacturing a plasma display panel or a solar battery panel.

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